Peer review

In the extensive rice–wheat system of north-west (NW) India, harvesting is by large combines and therice residues are normally burnt after harvest, followed by irrigation and intensive tillage prior to sowingwheat. While in-field retention of crop residues can play an important role in replenishing soil qualityand reducing environmental pollution from stubble burning, until recently, there has been no suitabletechnology for seeding wheat in rice residues. To address this need, a series of machines (‘Happy Seeders’)was developed over the past 10 years, culminating in the development of version 2 of the 9-row TurboHappy Seeder (v.2). The 9-row Turbo Happy Seeder(v.2) has a weight of 506 kg and can be operated by a33.6 kW tractor at a work rate of 0.3 ha h−1. Numerous on-farm trials show that yield of wheat sown intorice residues with the 9-row Turbo Happy Seeder is similar to or higher than yield with straw burning andconventional tillage prior to sowing, while providing many benefits to the farmer. These include greatlyreduced fuel consumption and cost of crop establishment, and the ability to sow as soon as desired afterharvest, ensuring the possibility of sowing at the optimum time and reducing the need for irrigation.However, adoption has been low to date, despite a 50% price subsidy. Constraints to adoption include thelow window of operation of the machine (25 days per year), the low machine capacity compared withconventional seed drills, the inability to operate in wet straw, and the lack of straw spreaders on combineharvesters. Removal of subsidies for diesel and electricity (for pumping groundwater) and implemen-tation of the policy banning in-field straw burning would help to accelerate adoption of technology fordirect drilling wheat into rice residues.

Borlaug Institute for South Asia

Conservation Agriculture Program

CIMMYT Informa No. 1953

INT3482

INT3072